Floor protecting plate



July 14, 1953 K. E. ZEIDLER FLOOR PROTECTING PLATE Filed Nov. 23, 1948 Patented July 14, 1953 KurtE. Zeidler, Chicago, 111., assignor to "Standard Railway Equipmcnt-Manufacturing Com- .pany, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application November 23, 1948, Serial No. 61,637

This invention relates to improvements in rail- Way freight cars and has for its principal object the provision of means for protecting the floors of such cars, which are subjected to great abuse by trucking the lading thereover and also by dragging the lading from one part of the car to an other,

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheathing for said floors, which sheathing is composed of a plurality of sections extending from side to side of the car, overlying the floor thereof, and interlocking with each other along their abutting or meeting sides.

A further object of the invention is to provide I an interlocking joint for said sections of sheathing so that when joined in said interlocking relationship a movement of said sections toward each other will insure that said sections will occur in substantially the same plane, and that each edge will tend to hold the other'down, resisting the tendency to curl upwardly due to the passing of heavy truck loads thereover.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is a plan view of part of a railway car door showing my improved floor protection applied thereto. I

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22, Figure 1,

parts being shown in elevation.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section, similar to Figure 2 of a modified form of joint. 1

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section, similar to Figure 2 of a further modified form of joint.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section, similar to Figure 2 of a still further form of joint.

In the drawings the usual wooden car flooring I0 is shown, which extends from side to side of the car, and which may be of any desired type of lumber.

My preferred form of the invention, shown in 2 Claims. 7 (01; 94-13) countersunk holes 5, through. which extend bolts I 6 'for holding the plates tothe'fioor ID of the, car. Along the other side margin of each plate are formed aj plurality of alined spaced tongues'which extend obliquely from the plane of theplate i l for ashort distance as of l! and then turned at 7 right angles thereto as at I8.

The width of slots 14 is greaterthan the thick-' ness of the'material forming the tongue I8, so that when a plate I I has been applied to the floor and bolts 16 tightened, the next adjacent plate may be applied by insertin parts It vertically through slots i4 until body part of said adjacent plate I l rests upon flooring Hi, when a movement of said adjacent plate H toward the already applied plate, will. cause the oblique portions ll to slide against one side edge of slots i4 and insure the margin of said adjacent plate .H to be maintained in plane with said applied plate. At. this modification. Along the other sides of each plate.

20 are provided a plurality of alined spaced tongues each of which extends obliquely from the plane of the plate 20 for a short distance as at 22 and is then turned at right angles to the plane of the plate as at, and extends within a longitudinal slot 25 within the flooring l0. These tongues 24 are spaced apart so as to coincide with the spacing of the slots 23. Thus when one plate 20 is applied over the flooring, tongues 24 of the next adjacent plate may be inserted vertically through slots 23 and then the plate moved toward the already applied plate when the inclined portions 22 will engage the sides of slots 23 and form an interlock. A series of bolt holes are provided in the adjacent margins of each pair of plates through which, and the flooring, may extend bolts 26 to hold the plates'in position on the flooring, and the interlocking feature, maintains the margins of the plates against turning upwardly due to trucks moving thereover, or moving the lading from place to place within the car.

In the modification shown in Figure 4, plates 30 each has one side margin 3 l' formed identically with the margin 2| of plate 20 in Figure 3, and with the spaced slots 33 formed in the inclined portion between body part of plate 30 and margin 3|. Along the other sides of each plate 30 are provided a plurality of spaced tongues each of which extends obliquely from the plane of the plate a short distance as at 32 and then parallel with the plane of the plate as at 34, under-lapping the margin of an adjacent plate. In this modiflcation when one plate 31'! has been applied to the floor, which is cut out to receive the margins 3| and 34, the tongued side of an adjacent plate is slid on the flooring toward the applied plate so that the tongues 34 pass through openings 33 and underlap the plate 30. Thus both the tongue 34 and margin 3[ underlap their respective adjacent plate. In this modification too, the margins of each plate are provided with registrable holes through which and the flooring l8 bolts 36 may be inserted to hold the parts together.

The modification shown in Figure 5 is identical with that shown in Figure 3 excepting that the spaced tongues 44 are turned at right angles to the plane of the plate, there being no inclined or oblique portion thereof such as shown at 22 in Figure 3. Otherwise the modifications of Figures 3 and 5 are the same.

It will be noted that in all modifications when the tongues are inserted through the slots, a

pushing together sidewise of adjacent plates will cause an inclined portion of one plate to engage the edge of a slot in an adjacent plate and hold the plates in the same plane at their margins.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. A protecting plate for a railway car floor, comprising a body portion, a flange along one side morgin of said body portion, forming a rounded corner between the flange and said body portion, spaced slots in said rounded corner, spaced tongues along the opposite side margin of said body portion and being connected to said body portion by a portion inclined thereto, whereby the inclined portions of said tongues bear against the upper edges of corresponding slots in an adjoining plate when inserted therein and moved laterally towards said adjoining plate to maintain said plates in a predetermined plane.

2. A protecting plate for a railway car floor, comprising a body portion, a downturned flange along one side margin of said body portion, forming a rounded corner between the flange and said body portion, said flange terminating in a portion substantially normal to said body portion, spaced slots in said rounded corner, spaced tongues along the opposite side margin of said body portion, each terminating in a portion substantially normal to said body portion and being connected to said body portion by a portion inclined thereto, whereby the inclined portions of said tongues bear against the upper edges of corresponding slots in an adjoining plate when inserted therein and moved laterally towards said adjoining plate to maintain said plates in a predetermined plane.

KURT ZEIDL-ER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 358,175 Thomas Feb. 22, 1887 448,733 Sagendorph Mar. 24, 1891 2,177,036 Greulich Oct. 24, 1939 2,294,549 Greulich Sept. 1, 1942 2,352,892 Greulich July 4, 1944 

